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Anesthesia and Pain Relief
Each expectant mother in labor
will require different amounts of medication depending on her special
situation. Many patients who have attended “natural childbirth classes”
require little or no pain medication. Other patients request specific
types of anesthesia to relieve the pain of childbirth. Our role in your
labor is to attempt to keep you and your baby from having a complication
related to either the childbirth process or the pain-relieving process
of labor.
We encourage all couples to
attend a prepared childbirth class. This will serve to educate you about
the delivery process and take away fears. This is not to say that every
couple should “go natural” because not all couples should. The classes
will serve every laboring couple, even though they may elect another
type of anesthetic. Each person has a different tolerance to pain and
you should not feel a sense of failure if you request, or we suggest,
medication for pain relief. There are two major types of anesthesia.
Regional Anesthesia
is given in the birth canal or the lower
region of the back near the spinal cord. The different locations of
administration produce various numbing effects.
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Local and Pudendal Blocks
- anesthetic given just prior
to delivery to numb the lower birth canal.
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Paracervical Block
- anesthetic injected
into the cervix to partially relieve pain during labor. It is rarely
used today.
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Spinal or Saddle Block
- anesthetic
injected into the lower back just prior to delivery producing numbness
of the lower abdomen, legs and birth canal.
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Epidural or Caudal Block
- anesthetic
injected through a catheter in the lower back producing numbness of the lower abdomen, legs, and birth canal.
General Anesthesia
is not frequently used for vaginal deliveries
unless a complication arises. It is more often used for
C-sections.
Many types of
medications and anesthetics are available to reduce the discomfort of
childbirth. There is not a single technique of pain relief that is
appropriate for everyone. After labor begins, we will give careful
instructions about the dosage and timing of the various medications (if
required) so as not to slow your labor or cause your baby to be sleepy
at birth. If you desire no pain medication, please inform us prior to,
or during, labor.
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